Sudden hearing loss, as its name suggests, occurs rapidly, developing over a period of several hours or days. Anyone who experiences a sudden hearing loss should act just as quickly in seeing a doctor in order to diagnose their hearing loss and explore what treatment options are available.

There are two major types of sudden hearing loss: conductive and sensorineural. With a conductive hearing loss, the problem occurs in the ear canal, ear drum or in the middle ear; often the problem involves fluid accumulated in the ear drum.

With a sudden sensorineural hearing loss, the damage has occured in the nerve, and because of this, should be treated a medical emergency. The only way to determine what type of hearing loss you have experienced is to visit a specialist and have a hearing exam administered. Since hearing loss can potentially be a medical emergency, it is important to act as quickly as possible.

For many patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss, treatment generally involves steroids — either a course of oral steroids or a series of transtympanic infusions – or even both in most cases. For these steroids to be most effective, they should generally be administered within three months of a patient first losing their hearing.

With sudden sensorineural hearing loss, time is of the essence. For the best chance at recovering hearing, it is vital to act quickly and seek treatment immediately.